marbeau



A MARBBAU Apparatus for Melting.

Patented Feb. 17,1880.

Il i HHHHHH N. PETERS. PHOT @45is left at the front ends of the chests.

a isuTEiaA 'STATES PATENT (OFFICE.N c, .f

` fAfUeUsrE MAEEEAU, ou DIJON, FRANCE.'

APPARTUS FOR MALTING.

Lf,srueiurcatrrolvrbrtnng part of` Letters Patent Ne. 224,554, `dated February 17, 1880.

i i i .ApplieationfiledNovember1879. Patented in France. October 12. 1876. i i

lTo i all Iwhom (it maj/'concern 1 the annexed sheets of drawings c j apparatus;

`the same."` i i Y i "My invention relates to `an improved apparatusfor malting barley, and the object there- I 5c, of is to cause a current ofmoistened fresh ex`- 1 `ternal` airl to pass `through the steeped and Isprouted barley While undergoing germination.`1` 1 u, `The,iairiinight be madelto passthrough thelV c `grain `by means of a` powerful exhaust fan or l zo pump; but to do this at onceeconomically and eifectivelyinvolves the employment of `a special apparatus combining, `with the utmost `siml i `plicity of construction, a maximum efficiency `for the production of `malt of superior quality.

`'lhis desirable resultis obtained by the present i invention, which I Will now proceed to describe `iin(,letailandlvvith reference to the accompalnyingidrawingsf i 1 y f This apparatus consists of a suitable num-1 3c ber of chests lorvats, A, (six being `shown in:

. `thedravvingggspllbypreference of rectangular y forrn,i`nwhichisplacedfthe barley to be malted.; lFor convenience of accesspassages are left on 1 l y either sideof the Ichests or vats A,except the g first and last, which are close against the Walls `ofthe malt-house, as in Figs. 1 and2. One: `end offallithe ehestsiis or may be `formed by i thewall of thelmalt-house, theopposite end` and sidesbeingpreferably `constructed of brick f4`onlaid `edgewise in cement and cemented on the i inside and outside. The "sidesand front angles of 3 the chests or vats are strengthened by suita- `bleposts ixedinthe ground or floor, and united y at top by suitable cross-bars. A free passage At about five inches from the bottom of each chest or vat is placed a perforated galvanized ,i sheet-irontray, a, supported on an open iron frame, b.

5o` "d are branch exhaust-pipes connected at one endto the `main exhaust-pipe B, leading to the f an or air-pump, and at the other end with six pipes d combined.

' ground-floor or the one above, as `most coni il 65 i i y j the space e beneath the perforated sheet-iron i Beitkuown that I, AUGUSTE MAEBEAU, ofi

` `Dij on,France, have invented an ImprovedApy paratusfoi-Malting land I do hereby declare l 5 that the followingis afullyclear,andexact de- 5 jscription ofthe same, reference 1beinghad to `false bottoms or trays, upon which the layers of barley are placed.. These .pipes d are furfl Which is of such diameter that its sectional c c Figurel is a longitudinal vertical sectionof 1 ava-t embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a top i 1o ivieiv `of iaseries ofsuchyvatsconnected in one Fi g. 3 is a vertical cross-section of g area isat least equal to the areas of tive ofthe The main pipe B leads to the exhaust-fan or other apparatus eniployed, which may either be placedon the venient. l 3 i All the joints of the several pipesare carefully lnted with strips of` cloth "or paper, or, better still, soldered, soas to be air-tight.

The Whole being arranged as described, the following is the system of maltng adopted: The barley, after being steeped to the point desired in the ordinary Way, is conveyed by chutes intoone or other ofthe six` chestssayNo. l, for example.` ln about twenty to 4tit/enty-four,hours the barley will 'have commenced to sprout, and When the shoot has attained about a millimeter in length the pipes d 'of chests Nos. 2, 3, 4, and 5 are shut on', and s the exhaust apparatus set in motion for chest i No. `1 either by means of a horse-gear or steam-engine, Where one'is available.` `All the air exhausted is drawn through the grain in chest No. 1, so that the temperature is `thus regulated as desired, the lowest temperature being attained when the branch exhaust-pipe islfull open, and it' this appears too low and retards the germination tooimuch the draft of air `may be at once reduced by partially closingithe valve, whereupon the temperature immediately rises and the germination becomes more active. `From twenty to thirty hundred-Weight of steeped barley are `introduced every twenty-four hours into fresh chest, so that after Nos. 2, 3, et, and 5 arefllled the malt in No. l will be ready to be taken to the kiln and be replaced by a freshsupplyof steepedbarley. i c

"The barley should be turried over at-intervals of twelvehours, and this requires no special skill for its performance, all that is necessary being to shovel it into the empty compartment reserved for this purpose, as hereinafter described, and afterward to level it.

(lare should be taken to shut oft the valve IOO on the exhaust-pipe before turning the barley or empt-ying the chests. y

From the foregoing it will be seen that the wider the valves are opened the greater will be the airdraft and the lower the temperature. in each couch7 of barley, and that thus, by means of the valves, the temperature may be regulated as desired.

In order that the air which traverses the barley-couch contained in the chests A may not abstract any ofthe moisture, and Vthus arrest the germination, a coveris applied to each chest, extending over its whole length and width, and consisting of hinged frames c c, laid upon the sides of the chest, and properly f1tted together and carrying cross-bars f, from which are suspended two or three diaphragms,

g h, of cloth, superposedat a certain distance apart, the latter being sprinkled with water from time to time, so that the air in passing through these moist diaphragms will become sufficiently charged with humidity and reduced in temperature to maintain the necessaryv moisture in the barley for producing perfect germination.

The above-described apparatus may be advantageously used in connection with the movable partition l) in each chest-that is to say, to the inner sides of the chest, at a distance of about a yard from each end, are fixed upright cleats z', against which rests a vertical partition, D, extending across the chest, and equal in height to the depth of the latter above the perforated false bottom a. This partition is movable, and is placed at the one end of the chest or the other, according to requirements. In the short compartmentj, formed in the chest by the partition D, which compartment j is thus separated from the main por-v tion ofthe chest, the perforated false bottom is covered with a piece of india-rubber, l, or

other'air-proof fabric, which completely stops the perforations and prevents the exhaust from acting through the chamberj.

When it is necessary to turn the barley the partition D, and then the air-proof fabric t, are removed, whereupon the barley can be readily shoveled into the space j thus reserved without loss of time in clearing away a space for the purpose.

When the couch is turned the air-proof fabric and partition are successively replaced, but at the other end of the chest, care being taken that they are so arranged as to prevent any entrance of air at this point.

By the use of frames thus constructed and carrying several cloth diaphragms, g h, superposed and spaced as above described, I obtain the following advantages:

First, I avoid any dripping of water on the couch, because if the first or uppermost diaphragm, which is of woolen or other cloth, receives more water than it can absorb those beneath it receive and absorb the excess.

Second, the contact of the air with the moistened diaphragms is doubly or trebly prolonged, and the refrigeration and humefaction of the air are consequently more complete and eifective.

Third, the vacant spaces between the diaphragms permit the moisture to evaporate to a great extent, whereby the temperature of the air travers-ing the couch is rapidly lowered.

Fourth, the sprinkling of the diaphragm with water may be more abundant and less frequent, and the diaphragms hold sufficient moisture to prevent any risk of the surface of the couch being dried by the ventilation, and t-he malting process may thus be carried on on any iioor ofthe malt-house, although I would observe that on the upper iloors it is advantageous to add a fourth diaphragm.

Before concluding it is very important to observe-that if the level of the ground will admit of running off the water, it is extremely advantageous to perform the steeping of the grain in the chests or vats themselves. In this case, instead of laying the bricks of which they are constructed edgewise, they are laid in the usual way, as the walls of the vats are much stronger,and the posts and tie-bars before used are notrequired.

When lined with a tolerably thick layer of good cement the vats may, without fear of giving way or leaking, be used both for steeping and germinating or malting. A considerable economy is thus effected in material, labor, and space.

Iclaim- 1. In an apparatus for malting barley, the chest or vat A, provided with perforated false bottom a, and withsuitable air-exhausting apparatus communicating with the space e under false bottom a, in combination with the diapl'lragms fg, for supplying moisture, in

the manner set forth, to the currents 'of air drawn through the said diaphragms, for the Ipurpose of keeping the germinating barley in the vat A properly moistened, substantially as described.

2. In the vats A of a malting apparatus constructedas described, the combination of the movable partition D and the air-proof fabric l, placed on the floor a of the space j, divided off by the partition D, for the purpose of reserving a space in the vat to enable theV grain to be quickly turned in the manner substantially as described.

AUGUSTE MARBEA.

Witnesses VELTEN, Neveu, Fils, RiooRn, AXN.

IOO 

